Allegations of a cover-up started shortly after the Aug. 6 crash, when prosecutors announced the blood test showed Bisard had a blood-alcohol level of .19 more than two hours after his squad car plowed into the motorcycles, killing 30-year-old Eric Wells and injuring two others.

It was the worst crash in Westchester in more than 75 years, and a national story even before the bombshell news broke the following week: Schuler had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent — double the legal limit and the equivalent of 10 drinks — and enough THC in her system to show she had been smoking marijuana during the trip.

Nine students who drank a caffeinated malt liquor called Four Loko were hospitalized with blood-alcohol levels ranging from 0.12 percent to 0.35 percent, and a female student nearly died, CWU President James L. Gaudino said.

After his client's blood-alcohol test came back with a reading over the legal limit, Mr. Risk said, the Department of Public Safety told the day-care center it had to get whiskey plates for all its vans.